Tenancy Deposit Cap Calculator

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, the tenancy deposit is capped at 5 weeks' rent where the total annual rent is less than £50,000, or 6 weeks' rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or more. Taking more than the cap is a prohibited payment and the excess must be returned.

Multiply the monthly rent by 12 to get the annual rent, then divide by 52. For example, £1,200 per month is £14,400 per year, which is £276.92 per week. Five weeks' rent is then £1,384.62, the maximum deposit for that tenancy.

A holding deposit is capped at 1 week's rent under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. It must be refunded or credited towards the first rent payment or the tenancy deposit. A landlord may only keep it in limited cases, for example where the tenant withdraws, fails a right-to-rent check, or gave false or misleading information.

In England the landlord must protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme and serve the prescribed information on the tenant within 30 days of receiving it (Housing Act 2004 s.213). Failure carries a court-awarded penalty of between 1 and 3 times the deposit (Housing Act 2004 s.214), and an unprotected deposit can block a rent-arrears possession claim until it is repaid.

No. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 cap applies to the total deposit, so a landlord cannot add a separate pet deposit on top of the 5 or 6 week limit. A landlord also cannot require the tenant to take out or pay for pet-damage insurance (that too is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019). Recover any actual pet damage through the deposit and, where that is insufficient, a county court claim.

The prescribed information is a set of statutory details the landlord must give the tenant within 30 days of receiving the deposit: which scheme protects the deposit, how the deposit is held, how to raise a dispute, and the circumstances in which deductions may be made. Serving it late or not at all attracts the same 1 to 3 times penalty as failing to protect the deposit.